Katayaburi no Ai
by Kurai Himitsu
Summary: Itachi warns, Kurenai replies. For Gerrysan Now A 30 Kisses Challenge: ItaKure
1. Not A Cat

**A****/N:** Heylo! Okay. . . This is the first drabble-like vig I've done in quite a while—a nice break from all those long oneshots and chapter fics. However, it's now become the possible start of a 30 Kisses drabble collection. . . Oi. Well, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Naruto_, and I'm not making any money off this

**Ratings:** G

**Genre:** General

**Warnings:** Nothing, really. . . My first fic for this pairing

**Main Characters:** Yuuhi Kurenai, Uchiha Itachi

**Themes:** jolt! (ユル！)

**Additional Notes:** I wrote this for my friend. . . I hope he likes it. (God, he's hard to please. . .) "Katayaburi no" means "of a breaking form" and is an idiom for "unconventional." Together with "Ai," the title means "Unconventional Love."

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_Katayaburi no Ai_

* * *

—_Not A Cat_—

He stood there impassively, watching her as she watched him, her red eyes fixed resolutely on his. Never once did she look away. He smirked. "Kurenai-san." She flinched as his voice curled and twisted about the syllables of her name; somehow, he made her feel dirty, as though she was trapped in black oil. He continued, oblivious, or perhaps simply uncaring. "You are taking quite a risk, coming here again. Does Konoha mean nothing to you now?"

She did not answer, scowling at him. Two weeks. For two weeks she had been coming here, to this secluded spot near the Valley of the End, paranoia at her heels as she snuck out of the Konoha gates—all to see him—and this was the thanks she got. Each time. Of course, she expected nothing less from the Uchiha. She scoffed. "Of course Konoha means something to me. It always will." She shrugged, finally looking away from those intoxicating eyes. "But I was curious."

The clearing was quiet; the only sound the rushing water somewhere in the background, the dull roar of the falls on the Valley. Here, though, it was quiet and the silence was thick in the clearing between them, the six feet separating them nearly solid with silence. Kurenai leaned her back against the large tree at the edge of the clearing, noting the nearly imperceptible sound of the Uchiha's footsteps coming closer. _He's__**letting**__ me hear him. . ._ "You know, Kurenai-san," the younger man whispered when he was close, his breath brushing her cheek and fanning on her neck, "They say curiosity killed the cat." His lithe, deadly fingers traced the outline of her cheek, millimeters from touching.

She shuddered; his arms blocked her in. She was trapped, but . . . somehow she didn't care. His eyes, she knew, had trapped her long before this. She looked at him, eyes meeting his once more and locking her fierce gaze with his dispassionate one. _Does he care?_ "Yes," she nearly hissed, closing the distance between their faces a little more, teasing him as best she could. "But I am not a cat."

"No," he chuckled, his lips brushing hers and sending electric shocks through her blood. "No, you are not."

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—_Owari_—

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**A/N:** Well. Short, but I think I did a fair job of it. . . Please, _review!_


	2. A Gift

**A/N** Heylo! Okay. . . This is the first drabble-like vig I've done in quite a while—a nice break from all those long oneshots and chapter fics. However, it's now become the possible start of a 30 Kisses drabble collection. . . Oi. Well, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Naruto_, and I'm not making any money off this

**Ratings:** G

**Genre:** General

**Warnings:** Nothing, really. . .

**Main Characters:** Yuuhi Kurenai, Uchiha Itachi

**Themes:** violence; pillage/plunder; extortion (強奪)

**Additional Notes:** I wrote this for my friend. . . I hope he likes it. (God, he's hard to please. . .) "Katayaburi no" means "of a breaking form" and is an idiom for "unconventional." Together with "Ai," the title means "Unconventional Love."

* * *

_Katayaburi no Ai_

* * *

—_A Gift—_

She had been surprised when she had seen him, and more so to learn of who he was. Perhaps she had not known the details, but the words "S-ranked criminal" had a much darker effect as his eyes met hers and she knew it would not be a pleasant meeting. She was right. It was far from pleasant. One look and she thought him easy prey for her genjutsu—but she was quickly proven wrong and suddenly frightened and wet, though utterly determined. Itachi, however, was cold, entirely unaffected by everything. Calculating. And positively gorgeous.

Of course, she would never say it out loud, and it was only after the fact that she thought of it at all. He had seemed like smoke and liquid shadow as he moved. That is, when she saw him move at all. She had been entranced by him somehow, though she knew it was no genjutsu. She had seen him again a few days later, standing at the edge of the forest, staring. She knew he knew of her presence, but she kept herself hidden anyway, to at least _appear_ professional. She was curious. He stood there for a long time before he finally turned and disappeared into the forest—she couldn't stop herself from following. She trailed him to the grotto that would be their meeting place from then on before he turned on her and she felt cold metal against her neck. She stiffened.

"Why are you following me, Kurenai-san?" he asked in a low whisper. "And with no weapons?"

She dared not even swallow for the light pressure of the kunai against her jugular. "I don't know." She cursed herself—he was right. She had no weapons and, to be honest, she had no idea how should could have forgotten them. There went being professional. _Damn it!_

A moment passed in silence before he was suddenly in front of her again, only a scant five feet away. "Foolish," he muttered. "I'm not going to kill you—it would be pointless."

She finally allowed herself a breath. He turned away, making his way towards the trees. The second she felt some degree of comfort, questions began to crowd her mind and she could not stop them from spilling out of her mouth. It had always been an annoyance to her instructors at the Academy—some had even said it may be her downfall—but she had thought she had mastered it. Apparently not. "But why did _you_ come? And what are you doing here in the first place?"

He turned slightly to survey her with his sharingan eyes, his expression just as blank as before. "Surely you were listening before? There is an item in Konoha that I must acquire. Nothing more, nothing less." He looked past her, in the direction of the village he had once called "home." "I came back . . . because I merely wanted to see it again."

She cocked her head to the side, ignoring the feeling of surrealism that came with having a civil conversation with a mass murderer. "Then . . . are you just going to let me go? Let me wander back to Konoha, even though I'm unarmed?"

He paused for a moment before putting the kunai he had earlier used to threaten her to his lips thoughtfully. She nearly flinched when the same kunai thudded into a tree less than a foot away from her seconds later. "Take it, and go home."

Then he was gone and she was left with the kunai that she prized from the bark. She smiled thinly; she couldn't help feeling that she has somehow extorted the Uchiha by his honor. "Thank you, Itachi-san."

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—_Owari_—

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**A/N:** Wow. Cool! Two fics in about two days. I'm rather proud of myself! Please, tell me what you think! _Review!_


	3. Under A Red Sky

**A/N** Okay. Yup, it became a 30 Kisses drabble-fic challenge. Oh well. So, this is number three for it. Well, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Naruto_, and I'm not making any money off this

**Ratings:** G

**Genre:** General

**Warnings:** Nothing, really. . .

**Main Characters:** Yuuhi Kurenai, Uchiha Itachi

**Themes:** our own world (二人の世界)

**Additional Notes:** . . .Nothin' to say.

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_Katayaburi no Ai_

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—_Under A Red Sky—_

It somehow became a sort of twisted tradition, their meeting in the clearing. Every week, on Friday—though how they both managed to arrange an empty evening was beyond them. It was strange—it was an unspoken but somehow entirely understood agreement between them that they would meet. Kurenai wasn't sure how it had come to that—she figured it had been something in his eyes that drew her back each time. And after the second time, they were always black for her. As for Itachi, she hadn't a clue why he continued to see her. It was almost flattering, in a terrifying way. Each Friday she would wait, fear and anticipation burning through her veins and making her fidgety and nervous. He would come after her, normally—silent, no more than a shadow between the trees. Their meetings were sometimes quiet, and sometimes they merely talked of things—though never of business. Just little things. And so it went for nearly a month before the status quo changed.

Uchiha Itachi was nothing if not efficient Kurenai had learned early on. However, he seemed to have an air about him, concerning her—he seemed more . . . playful, she supposed. Like a cat with a mouse. Yes, that was it—the perfect analogy for them. She was well aware that he could probably kill her without much effort on his part, and yet he did not. It was an odd feeling, though, to be wary of one so much younger than herself, but she had learned after their first encounter that he was not one to be taken lightly. He was someone who demanded respect, though she doubted he really cared if it was given or not. He was an enigma to her, and so she always returned. As it was, something was different this time. The aura of playfulness was gone, replaced by that of cold sincerity. He said nothing. And then she noticed—his sharingan was activated, blood red and spinning lazily. There was no time to even draw another breath before she felt the world melt away.

The colors twisted, swirling together and fading to red and black, a smoke-cloud sky on crimson. She found quickly that she could not move. This was the Uchiha's world, and she was no more than a prisoner in its confines. The land, barren and bleak, stretched out unfathomably in every direction. It was completely empty and she could sense nothing, smell nothing, _feel_ nothing. She was terrified. For the first time in a long time she felt completely helpless. Nothing was in her control at this point, and she was painfully aware of the fact. Had she been a lesser woman, she would have cried. And beneath it all, had she taken the time to notice it, she would have realized his betrayal hurt—she had_ trusted_ him. Then, it changed. The scenery began to shape itself, dyeing itself with greens and browns and such, though the memory of red still remained. Trees, grass, rocks—forming the almost perfect copy of the grotto—_their_ grotto. And then he was there as well, standing in the center with the familiar look of indifference. It was a moment before she realized that she could move once more. She knew it was hopeless—in this place where even the scenery obeyed him—but she sank into a fighting stance, her hands ready to form the seals at any hint of attack.

He merely watched her, an air of mild curiosity to his gaze. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Her eyes narrowed. "What did you do?" she hissed.

"This is my technique. This is the Tsukuyomi. I control everything here."

"Then why should I believe you won't hurt me?"

A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "Because I have no reason to. I merely wanted to talk in private, and I cannot think of a more private place than this."

She was still hesitant, the fear lingering, though she slowly dropped the stance. "Talk about what?"

"About our meetings," he replied as he settled himself on a stump—it was then that Kurenai noticed the stump beside her and cautiously took her own seat. "Is this going to continue, Kurenai-san?" The question took her by surprise and she blinked, her mouth opening and closing with no sound; he continued. "I rather enjoy them, but it is a risk, to meet so near Konohagakure when I cannot even be certain you will show."

He had a point, she supposed. She swallowed, finally trusting herself to speak properly. "Then perhaps we should set a day, Itachi-san." His eyes were piercing. She could not help shrugging awkwardly and looking away.

"Yes. Yes, that does sound rather sensible." She turned to see a thin smile on those lips—not the usual smirk for once, but something softer. She smiled in return. "How about . . . every other Friday afternoon?"

"Why not every week?"

He shook his head. "The pattern would be too easily noticed. We must be _discreet_. After all, we risk death, even with a simple conversation such as this."

Kurenai swallowed, the sudden reality sinking in. She looked away once more, her crimson eyes finding a small stream flowing through the trees a short ways away. The water seemed almost too bright, too clean and she shuddered, hugging herself. Her eyes followed its progress until it disappeared between thick bushes and towering trees that reached to the red-hued sky. She wondered distantly if there was even anything that existed past that point. As it was, all was silent. There was no wind, no smell, and no animals. No birdsong or crackling leaves. She closed her eyes, swallowing dryly. This was truly unnatural.

"Do you still wish to see me, Kurenai-san?" Her eyes flew open to see Itachi leaning close to her again; she had not even heard his approach this time.

"I-Itachi-san?"

"Do you still wish to see me, Kurenai-san?" he repeated steadily, his gaze never once wavering from hers. "I understand if you do not. It _is_ dangerous and there is a steep price to be paid if we are caught."

His words sparked something in her, some change that she could not clearly name, and she straightened; a determined frown set itself on her features and her eyes narrowed into his. "I'm not afraid."

Finally, his familiar smirk returned as he captured her lips, the world melting into red and black. "Good."

* * *

—_Owari_—

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**A/N:** Okay. . . I'm not as happy with this one. I'm not sure why. . . Ugh, sometimes I hate dialogue. . . Tell me what you think—_review!_


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